Some of the weapons collected in Wednesday's Los Angeles Gun Buyback event are showcased Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012 during a news conference at the LAPD headquarters in Los Angeles. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office says the weapons collected Wednesday included 901 handguns, 698 rifles, 363 shotguns and 75 assault weapons. The buyback is usually held in May but was moved up in response to the Dec. 14 massacre of students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Image of a Bushmaster AR-15 via APGun control advocates are holding out hope for a broad ban on military-style assault weapons even though Vice President Joe Biden made no mention of it while discussing the Obama administration's gun control plans this week. After a meeting with gun rights advocates, hunting groups and a manufacturer's trade association on Thursday, Biden said a plan expected on Tuesday would expand background checks, ban high-capacity gun clips, close the so-called “gun show loophole” and …